Vice-Chancellor Spindelegger “Dismayed about series of executions in Iran”

Vienna, 22 October 2012 – “I am shocked about the increasing number of executions in Iran. Reports have reached us about repeated enforcement of death sentences in several parts of the country; in some cases there have even been public executions, most of them without a fair trial. This morning alone, ten people are said to have been executed in the Evin prison of Teheran. This is to be condemned most sharply”, Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Spindelegger said, commenting on the most recent series of executions in Iran.

“Only shortly after the international community celebrated the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Iran defies all international appeals and continues its cynical policy of disregarding the most fundamental human rights. The death penalty is inhumane and must be banned. We demand that Iran at least introduce a moratorium for executions as a first step. By imposing capital punishment even for mere drug crimes and by abusing it to gag political dissidents, Iran is violating all the internationally accepted standards to which the country has subscribed”, Spindelegger said.

“Austria is observing the situation of human rights in Iran with growing concern. We will continue our fight for worldwide abolition of capital punishment – without any ifs and buts – in Iran and elsewhere”, the Foreign Minister concluded.